Display refrigerator-case.



w; T. HUENING. DISPLAY REFRIGERATOR CASE. APPLICATION FILED DECJM 1917.

Patenfed Feb. 25, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

'WTfizlzzz'flgimenior by Q I" i Witnesses Attorneys W. T. HUENING.

DISPLAY REFR\GERA-TOR CASE. APPLICATION man no. 24. 191 z,

Patented Feb. 25, 1919.

2 SHEET$-SHEET 2.

O 00 O O Ov W nventor Witnesse's Attorneys H wrnnm'm r. HUENING, or cnrcaeo, armors. DI$PIJAY REFRIGERATOR-CASE.

To all whom z'tmay concern:

Be it known that LWILLIAM T. HUENING, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Display Refrigerator-Case, of which the 'following is a specification.

' refrigerator'case intended primarily for displaying perishable articles of food, such as The subject of this invention is a display meat. A

The. main object of the invention to provide means for producing a proper circulation of air within the case, and thereby maintain an equal low temperature throughout the case.

Another object of the invention is the pro view, which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination' and arrangement of parts and in.v the details of construction hereinafter de-"' scribed and claimed, it beingunderstood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed cambe made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Fig. 1;

A practical embodiment of the invention is .shown in the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of a display case. constructed in accordance with the invention;- g .L i

Fig. 2 is acrossvs'ection o'nf-th i jfFig. '3 is an enlarged detail-sec onal' view of the air inlet port 1 fromanerefrigerant "ehamber to the display"compartment.

.any other suitable manner.

:lg'fReferring to the drawings 'by numeralsjof reference x I In carrying out the invention .there s pro,--- vided a casing 1, of any.convenient-size 'and configuration, within which 'is anoth' i ing 2 which, is insulated from the. on ing 1 bya dead air space, as shown The case is preferably Specification of Letters Patent.

01 i1 I to the trap 8.-

OFFICE.

Patented Feb. 25, 1919.

Application filed December 24, 1917. 'SeriahNo. 208,582.

in shown, the two ends containing the refrigerant chambers while the central portion is the display compartment proper.

While the device 1s herein shown and described as having two refrigerating chambers, one at each end of the case, it is to be understood that the structure and the inventionare'not limited to two refrigerating chambers, but one or more may be used as circumstances demand and permit. The display compartment has suitable transparent panels 3 which permit a complete View of the contents of the compartment, and also a slatted floor 4 which is spaced from the floor 5 ofthe inner casing which is inclined downwardly toward the center of the casing, as

shown. Theend walls 6 of the display com partment may be provided with supports for the purpose of holding a shelf 7 upon which, as well as the floor 4,articles may be placed. l

Secured at the central portion of the floor of the inner casing is a trap 8 from which depends an outlet pipe 9, while above the trap, and extending transversely of the easing, is a housing or boxing l0 herein shown as of wire mesh but which may be formed of any suitable perforated material.

In each end of the inner casing 2 is formed a refrigerant chamber the inner wall 11 of which is spaced from the end wall 6 of the display compartment. Within each refrig+ -erant chamber 'a freezing mixture, such as crushed ice 12 and salt, is placed access being had to the chamber through a lid 13.

Downwardly inclined apertures 14 extend through'transverse bars 14 and establish communication between the upper portion of the display compartment and the upper ends of the refrigerant chambers. TlllS permits the upper strata of Warmer air. in the display'compartment to' flow through the apertures 14 and into the upper end of the refrigerant chambers. Ducts 15 lead downwardly. beside the freezing mixture froI'n which theyare separated by the perforated freezingaj-niixthre and floor 17 is inclined downw ardlytoward the floor 5, its inclination being greater than .wall 16 and these ducts extend to the slant- 7 ing or inclined .floor 17 which underlies themay be separated .therefroijr'by the perforated floor 18. The

that ofthe floor so that water will drain along the floor 1'? i to the floor 5 and thence the colder air naturally seeksthe lower level, the air which has been cooled b the freezing mixture will move down the inclined floor 17 of the refrigerant chamberv and be forced out into the space between the slatted floor 4 and the floor This cold air will travel between these floors, a portion escaping between the slats of the floor l, until it reaches the central, apertured housin 10 at which place, having absorbed consierable heat, it will rise, thus establishing a complete circulation of air through the i case. I I

The opening or port between the refrigerant chamber and the display compartment is preferably covered with wire gauze or the like, as indicated at 19, so as to retain the freezing mixture while allowing free egress to the air. A shutter 20; is hung trans-' versely of the casing and is hinged or pivoted to swing vertically and may be operated to close the port or opening from the refrigerant chamber to the display compart- -ment. Any suitable mounting may be provided for this shutter and it may e swung to completely close the port when it is desired to cut off the flow of cold air from the refrigerant chamber.

The operation of this refrigerating display L case is similar to that of most cases of the character the main difli'erence lying in the fact that the cold air flowing from the refrigerant chambers comes directly from the i refrigerating mixture and does not accumulate in a lower compartment, beneath the refrigerant chamber before entering the dis-" play compartment.

While to the inexperienced this may seem a small change in the structure, and one resulting in gfactically no advantage, still ac tual tests ave shown that the air, after leaving the freezing mixture, rapidly absorbs. heat and, even though temporarily retained in acompartment below the freezing mixture, the temperature of the air will rapidly rise. By providing the inclined floors 17 the descending cold air passing directly from the refrigerants will be deflected inwardlyto the display compartment and will not be trapped or retarded to the slightest degree.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as neW and sought by Letters Patent, is y A display refrigerating case, including insulated inner and outer casings, the floor ment to the refrigerant chambers and down- Wardly through the freezing mixture, and directly from the freezing mixture to the lower portion of the display compartment.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto aflixed my signature in tlie presence of two witnesses.

, WILLIAM T. HUEN'ING. WVitnesses r VPAUL J. DAEMIQKE JAS. W. MURRAY, Jr. 

